Seomra Ranga is pleased to announce that the journalist and broadcaster, Kevin Myers, has accepted an invitation to be the next subject in our interview series. I put it to him that in view of the fact that there is a perception among teachers that he was constantly bashing the public service in general and teachers in particular, if he would be willing to put himself forward as an interviewee on the site, and he readily agreed.
Kevin is currently a columnist with the Irish Independent. He previously wrote “An Irishman’s Diary” for the Irish Times for many years. Many of his articles have caused controversy over the years. However, it is the perception that his views are anti-public service that causes ire among many teachers. So here is your chance.
This is where visitors to the website can become involved. Kevin has agreed to take questions from visitors to the website. You can submit questions for Kevin via the Facebook or Twitter pages, or by posting a comment on this post. Questions should not be of a personal nature, should not be defamatory and should be succinct and to the point. I will collate / edit /amalgamate these and submit them to Kevin for answers / comments. I will then put his answers/responses together into a post on the Seomra Ranga website where teachers are free to comment upon them.
This is a great opportunity for practising teachers to put questions directly to this controversial journalist, so I hope that we can get a good series of questions from a cross-section of the teaching community. I wish to express my appreciation to Kevin Myers for agreeing without hesitation or preconditions to submit himself to questioning through the Seomra Ranga website.
If there are other figures involved in education that you think would be a good interviewee, please let me know.
I have followed Kevin’s articles in relation to Education for many years and I agree that he is completely entitled to his opinion. I ask that before he writes a single word more, that he “walks a day in our shoes” in my school.
I have posed this question many times before but to no avail.
Best wishes
Hi Damien,
Any chance you could offer an invitation to Dr Ed Walsh? He has also been quite vocal with his anti-teacher views!
Le dea-mhéin
Erin
Hi Erin, Dr. Ed Walsh is on my list of people to ask at some future date.
Hi Damien,
My questions for Kevin would be A. ” Do you believe that you have been “fair and balanced” in your comments about teachers and other ordinary workerss? B. How do you feel that the demonisation and scapegoating of innovative and hard-working public servants like teachers adds to the debate on national recovery?
Stephen
Being extremely familiar with the vitriol forever present in Kevin Myer’s articles, I am disappointed to see a website for and about educational issues giving a forum to Kevin Myers.
Hi Deirdre, I understand your sentiment and you are entitled to your viewpoint. However, if we don’t challenge the viewpoints and opinions of journalists such as Kevin Myers, the “vitriol” that you speak of will continue. I just intend to ask Kevin the questions that are on many teachers’ minds, and, in fairness to him, Kevin agreed to submit himself to these questions without hesitation. So, let’s see what he has to say and let the debate begin.
I would ask why he has a bee in his bonnet about teachers – we are not the only public servants. We work hard and provide a good service like nurses and gardaí, while there are numerous faceless “public service” penpushers who contribute very little to society and get well paid for it.